Sluggers highlight players chosen for 2004 Triple-A All-Star Game
Published on June 23, 2004 under International League (IL1) News Release
Twelve sluggers boasting at least ten home runs headline the International League Team chosen to participate in the seventeenth annual Triple-A All-Star Game to be held on Wednesday, July 14 in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. The Game, to be played at McCoy Stadium, home of the IL's Pawtucket Red Sox, will be broadcast across North America on the ESPN2 television network and distributed by Sporting News Radio to a worldwide audience. First pitch of the annual Triple-A summer classic matching stars of the International and Pacific Coast Leagues is scheduled for 7:10 pm eastern.
The All-Star teams were once again chosen by media representatives, club field staffs and club and league administrators. The 2004 Triple-A All-Star Game marks the seventh consecutive season teams representing the International and Pacific Coast Leagues have faced off in the mid-season event. The International League All-Stars ended a four-game losing streak last season, defeating the Pacific Coast Leaguers 13-9 in a record-setting affair at Memphis' AutoZone Park. The IL won the first Triple-A All-Star Game in which players representing the two Leagues opposed one another (1998) before losing the next four. The first ten games were played in a National League affiliates versus American League affiliates format.
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Pawtucket manager Buddy Bailey will have a stable of talented players at his disposal when he leads the IL All-Stars into battle on July 14. Perhaps the most prominent is Richmond outfielder Charles Thomas who leads the League in both batting average and on-base percentage. The 25-year-old Thomas, in his first season at the Triple-A classification, is batting at a .358 clip and posts a .416 on-base percentage. Durham's Midre Cummings, second in the League with a .412 OBP, will flank Thomas in the All-Star outfield. Lou Collier of Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, a star for the IL in last season's Triple-A All-Star Game in Memphis, brings 11 HR and 52 RBI to the third starting outfield spot. The IL's All-Star infield features a pair of sluggers at the corners in Pawtucket 3B Earl Snyder (.295 avg, 18 HR, 55 RBI) and Rochester 1B Justin Morneau (.310/18/52). The League's top two performers in hits - Buffalo shortstop Jhonny Peralta (93) and Charlotte second baseman Bryant Nelson (91 hits and an IL-best 25 doubles) - form the double play combo. PawSox catcher Andy Dominique (.296/10/45) will take his familiar spot behind the plate at McCoy Stadium while Toledo's Joe Vitiello (.333/8/44) will serve as the designated hitter. Players selected as reserves include sluggers Craig Brazell (Norfolk, 18 HR, 46 RBI), Jorge Cantu (Durham, 13/52), Corey Hart (Indianapolis, 12/43), Andy Phillips (Columbus, 11/27), Glenn Williams (Syracuse, 16/46), and Ernie Young (Buffalo, 15/56).
A deep IL pitching staff has been assembled to face the Pacific Coast League's offense. Leading the way is Charlotte right-hander Felix Diaz, the leading vote-getter among active IL pitchers, who ranks among the League's leaders with 8 wins (T-2nd), 61 strikeouts (8th) and a 3.51 ERA (9th). Joining Diaz are five other pitchers with at least six victories including Scranton/Wilkes-Barre middle reliever Dan Giese, who tops the circuit with 9 wins, Indianapolis right-hander Ben Hendrickson, who leads the staff with a 2.54 ERA (third in the IL), and 8-game winner Dave Gassner of Rochester. If the game is close in the late innings, All-Star Pitching Coach Mike Griffin of Pawtucket can go to the bullpen, where four relievers have combined for 58 saves. Richmond's Matt Whiteside paces the group with 18 saves while Sam Marsonek has closed the door on 16 Columbus victories. Fans in Pawtucket will also get to see one of their own, as PawSox right-hander Tim Kester (7-4, 3.23 ERA) has also been chosen to the IL pitching staff.
Three of the IL All-Stars will be making return trips to Triple-A's mid-summer classic. Collier and Marsonek both played a role in the International League victory over the PCL last July in Memphis. Collier, then with Pawtucket, went 3-5 with a homer and three runs scored while Columbus' Marsonek picked up the win with an inning of scoreless relief. Vitiello, representing Las Vegas, was named the Lou Gehrig Player-of-the-Game and the PCL "Star of Stars" following the 2000 contest in Rochester after going 3-3 with 3 runs scored in the PCL's 8-2 win over the IL.
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Last year's Major League All-Star Game featured 13 former Triple-A All-Star Game participants - one short of the record of 14 set in the 1998 & 1999 Games. A pair of former Triple-A All-Stars played important roles in the American League's 7-6 victory in Chicago last July. Anaheim's Garret Anderson (a Triple-A All-Star with Edmonton in 1994), went 3-4 with a double, HR and 2 RBI, while Texas' Hank Blalock (Oklahoma, 2002) hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning to complete the scoring and give the AL the win. Other former Triple-A All-Stars who appeared in last July's Major League All-Star Game included: Aaron Boone, Bret Boone, Carl Everett, Todd Helton, Paul LoDuca, Javier Lopez, Mike Lowell, Magglio Ordonez, Richie Sexson, Alfonso Soriano, & Dmitri Young.
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